Construction of buildings



March 24, 1970 J. J. DE MAILLY CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS iled Oct. 6. 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 24, 1970 -J, J, DE MAILLY 3,501,875

CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 F79. 6 Hg. 7

Filed Oct. 6, 1967 i uor/w" J. J. DE"MAILLY CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS March 24, 1970 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 6, 1967 H98 March 24, 1970 J. J. DE MAILLY 3,501,875

CONSTRUCT ION OF BUILDINGS Filed Oct. 6, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig-20 312 P 12 la //w fi \/dan Jayme; 4/: 777/740 United States Patent 3,501,875 CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS Jean Jacques de Mailly, Palais de Chaillot, Pavillon Wilson, Place du Trocadero 75, Paris, France Filed Oct. 6, 1967, Ser. No. 673,482 Claims priority, application France, Oct. 10, 1966,

79,276 Int. (:1. B60p 3/32; E04h 1/12; E04g 21/14 Us. or. 5269 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In French Patent No. 1,372,468 there is described a method for improving the techniques of industrialisation of constructions for habitation which comprises manufacturing in the factory elements whose general shape is that of rectangular-sided caissons each of which corresponds to a distinct room or premises of a standard or typical dwelling, the various caisson elements adapted to constitute this standard dwelling having such dimensions as to be capable of being placed one inside the other or nested together so that the caisson representing the largest room can contain all of the other caisson elements of the standard dwelling.

This arrangement is completed by the choice of light materials for the construction of the sides of the caissons and has the advantage of rendering possible the transportation of the essential elements of a complete dwelling by a single vehicle.

According to the teaching of the aforementioned patent, the caisson elements, after their transportation to the site, are assembled on a reception surface which is arranged in such manner as to constitute a foundation element or floor for the dwelling. In order to increase the economical value of the method, the object of the present invention is to provide an improvement in that the floor of the dwelling is also pre-fabricated in the factory and so arranged that it can serve as a protective packing for the transportation of the caisson elements.

According to another feature of the invention, the floor or bed, which is preferably rectangular, comprises three parallel parts, namely a median part Whose width corresponds to the overall size of a pack of nested caissons and two lateral parts pivoted to the median part so as to be capable of occupying either a closed position in which they form two vertical side walls adapted to enclose the pack of caissons placed on the median part, or an open fiat position in which they can be locked and rendered rigid with the median part so as to constitute both a surface for mounting the dwelling and a floor adapted to be incorporated in the construction.

Once open on the site, the assembly thus constituted is placed in position on temporary blocks which subsequently receive the elements of the dwelling to be assembled and are finally integrated with the assembled dwelling in the framework of the building to be constructed, or directly on a foundation or the framework prior to the mounting of the elements.

The caissons are preferably obtained by the assembly "ice of panels which comprise an insulating core, for example of a foam of plastics material, both faces of which are connected to a facings or revetments, which can also be of plastic material and in particular polyester reinforced with glass fibers.

Transportation on a railway or highway vehicle of the fitted caissons protected inside the described foldable bed, can present a problem owing to their overall width which exceeds the regulation loading gauges of some countries.

Consequently, according to another feature of the invention, each caisson element can be divided preferably into the form of two half-caissons so that it is possible to form, by the nesting of lower half-caissons and upper halfcaissons, two distinct packs which, placed on the centre part of a closed bed, can be loaded one behind the other on a highway or railway vehicle and constitute a load whose overall width is within the regulation loading gauges.

When assembling, two complementary half-caissons are interconnected in accordance with a method which depends on the nature of the panels constituting the halfcaissons, for example by welding or adhesion.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description with referen to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a series of elements, each pre-fabricated in the form of a caisson and nested one inside the other and corresponding to a standard dwelling;

FIG. 2 is a perspective'view of a caisson for the construction of one dwelling room;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic elevational view of the manner of loading a series of nested caissons on a trailer;

FIG. 4 is a view of a detail showing the pivot of the bed shown in FIG. 3 and means for locking this pivot;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of one example of a dwelling constructed of the elements shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of a bare floor and a roof covering an individual house corresponding to the plan shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an end elevational view of the roof shown in FIG. 6; 1

FIGS. 8 and 9 are horizontal sectional views of panels employed in the construction of the caissons, these panels respectively constituting a partition wall and a frontage wall;

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view of a panel;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are views of the connection of a frontage panel respectively with a floor and a ceiling carried by the roof structure;

FIGS. 13 and 14 are views respectively in horizontal section and vertical section of the assembly of two adjoining partition panels;

FIG, 15 is a horizontal sectional view of the assembly of two frontage panels disposed in end-to-end relation;

FIG. 16 is a view of a trailer coupled to a highway tractor and loaded with a pack of caissons for an individual house contained in a folded floor-bed assembly;

FIGS. 17-19 are perspective views of the main stages of the construction of an individual house;

FIG. 20 is a view similar to FIG. 16, the pack of caissons being intended for the construction of a dwellin plan in FIG. 5. The largest caisson element A, constituting the lounge, contains all the others.

As shown in FIG. 2, each caisson element is composed of three panels 3, which form the walls of the rooms or cells, and is open at the top and bottom.

In FIG. 3, the pack P of caisson elements is shown loaded on edge on a trailer 8 coupled to a highway tractor. The pack P is supported on the chassis 11 through a bed 12 which comprises a centre part 13 bearing against the chassis 11 and two wider lateral parts 16 which are pivoted at 17 to the centre part so that these two lateral parts can be raised to a vertical position and constitute two side walls which form with the centre part 13 a container surrounding the pack P of caisson elements during transportation.

The bed 12 is adapted to constitute, after the locking of the pivot 17, the floor of the dwelling to be constructed from the elements A] of the assembly P. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the pivots 17 comprise a pin 53 inserted in tubular sleeves 54 which are alternately welded to one and the other of two L-section members 56, 56 fixed to the parts 13 and 1-6 respectively of the bed 12 in the region of the upper face of the latter. A roundsection rod 58 connects the L-section members to identical L-section members located in the lower part (not shown). The pivots 17 are locked by means of welded pins 59 which interconnect the vertical flanges of the pairs of L-section members 56 with interposition of an adjusting block 61.

In FIG. 6, the floor 12 is in its extended position on a foundation (not shown) and incorporated in an individual house having a roof 19 resulting from the assembly of three longitudinal elements 21, 22, 22 (shown in elevation in FIG. 7).

FIG. 8 shows by way of example a composite panel 43 which is employed for constructing partition walls 3 for the caisson elements A]. This panel comprises an insulating core 44, for example of phenolic foam, to which are connected two revetment sheets 46, for example of polyester reinforced by glass fibres. In the panel 47 shown in FIG. 9, which is supposed incorporated in a frontage, the outer revetment sheet 48 consists of, for example, an enameled sheet or a marble slab.

As shown in FIG. 10, U-section elements 49 straddle the upper and lower edges of a panel 43 or 46 which is incorporated in a caisson element. A tie bar 52 is tightened between the bottoms 49a of these U-section elements by means of tightening nuts 51. The elements 49 serve to assemble the corresponding panels by means of bolts 53 with the floor 12 (FIG. 11) and with the ceiling 54 supported by an element of the roof 22 (FIG. 12).

FIG. 11 shows that the floor 12 consists of a core having a honeycomb structure 12a, for example containing aluminium, connected to the cover sheets 12b.

In FIG. 13, vertical tie-bars 52 are also provided within two adjoining panels 43 for assembling the latter. These tie-bars extend in rectangular tubes 56 which are embedded in the insulating material 44 and flush with the free face of the outer revetment sheet 46 through an opening 57 in the latter. The panels are clamped together by means of nuts 51 to plates 58 which cover the bottom 49a of the respective elements 49 in the region of the adjoining tubes 56. U-shaped fasteners 59, having branches penetrating the insulating material 44, also contribute to the assembly.

To assemble two frontage panels 47 in end-to-end relation, a similar arrangement is shown in FIG. 15.

The tractor-trailer unit 8 shown in FIG. 16 comprises, as in FIG. 3, a pack P of caisson elements contained in a folded bed 12 and moreover elements 21a, 22a which are also in the bed 12 and constitute component parts of the roof 19 of an individual house. After unloading the assembly of elements carried by the bed 12, the latter is in turn unloaded, placed in position on the foundation provided for this purpose and then opened out (FIG. 17).

The pivots 17 (FIGS. 3 and 4) are locked and then the individual caisson elements A] (FIG. 18) are interconneeted and connected to the floor 12 in accordance with a plan which is for example that shown in FIG. 5. The elements 21a, 22a of the roof 19 are finally placed in position and assembled with the panels of the caisson elements (FIG. 19).

The combination according to the invention of a pack P of caisson elements and a bed 12 (FIGS. 20 and 21) can obviously be employed for the construction of dwellings in a collective building. On top of the already-constructed part of the building 30 (FIG. 21) a complete dwelling 31whose caissons have been assembled with the corresponding bed-floor 12 on an assembly surface can be placed in position after having been attached by a sling 33 to the hook 34 of a crane. Framework elements 36 and bracing elements 37 must then be provided for ensuring that the structure has the required stability.

It is clear that in the case of a collective building, each floor 12 receiving a complete dwelling 31 can be employed or constitute the ceiling of a subjacent dwelling 35.

Instead of having a height equal to that of the rooms of the dwelling to be constructed, the caisson elements can have merely a fraction of this height. Each dwelling could thus be constructed by the assembly of half-caissons which are, if desired, provided with a floor or ceiling element. The construction could be then transported to the site by disposing the two packs P P of half-caissons Within a bed 12 (FIG. 22).

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been described, many modifications and changes may be made therein.

.Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Method for constructing a dwelling comprising prefabricating a floor-bed for the dwelling in the form of a first portion and a plurality of lateral movable portions, pre-fabricating elements whose general shape is that of a rectangular-sided caisson each of which corresponds to a room of the dwelling, the caisson elements being capable of nesting one inside the other, nesting the caisson elements one inside the other, whereby the caisson element representing the largest room can contain all of the other caisson elements, placing said nested caisson elements on said first portion of said floor-bed, placing said movable portions in substantially vertical position in connected relation to said first portion and adjacent said nested caisson elements so as to enclose and protect said caisson elements, transporting the floor-bed and nested caisson elements to the building site, placing said first portion on a receiving face, placing said movable portions in a substantially horizontal position substantially in the extension of said first portion and in connected relation to said first portion, and assembling said caisson elements in supported relation to said floor-bed to constitute rooms of said dwelling.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floorbed comprises three parallel portions, namely a median portion corresponding to said first portion the width of which corresponds to the overall size of a pack of nested caisson elements and two lateral movable portions pivoted to the median portion, said lateral portions being pivoted ture comprising a floor-bed having a median portion and' two lateral portions pivoted to said median portion and a plurality of elements nested together and supported on said median portion of said floor-bed, said elements having the general shape of rectangular-sided caissons adapted to constitute cells of the dwelling, said lateral portions being pivotable to a substantially vertical position for enclosing said caisson elements for transportation of said structure and pivotable to a substantially horizontal position and thereby constitute with said median portion a floor-bed on which said caisson elements can be assembled to constitute said dwelling.

4. A structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein thecaisson elements are split up into a plurality of parts whereby it is possible to reduce the width of the median portion of the floor-bed and the spacing between the lateral portions when in their vertical position.

5. A structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein the caisson elements are split up into two open hal-f-caissons which respectively comprise a floor and a ceiling. v

6. A structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein said parts of each caisson element are a lower half-caisson and an upper half-caisson adapted to be assembled to constitute a complete caisson element and, for the purpose of transportation, the lower half-caissons are placed on their sides and the upper half-caissons are placed on their sides and nested separately so as to form two distinct packs which are disposed on said median portion of the floor-bed one behind the other.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising placing the floor-bed on a previously prepared foundation and assembling the caisson elements in their final position directly on said floor-bed.

8. A method as claimed in claim -1, comprising placing the floor-bed on the receiving surface and rigidly fixing said movable portions to said first portion in said substantially horizontal positions of said movable portions, and, after having placed the caisson elements in position on the floor-bed, raising the unit comprising the floor-bed and the assembled caisson elements and placing the unit on a foundation.

-9. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising placing the floor-bed on the receiving surface and rigidly fixing said movable portions to said first portion in said substantially horizontal positions of said movable portions,

and, after having placed the caisson elements in position on the floor-bed, raising the unit comprising the floor-bed and the assembled caisson elements and placing the unit in a 'framework prepared .for receiving said unit.

10. A structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein the floorbed comprises a core having a honeycomb structure and revetment sheets connected to said core.

11. A structure as. claimed in claim 10, wherein the honeycomb cOre contains aluminium.

12. A structure 'as claimed in claim 10, wherein the honeycomb core and the two revetment sheets contain aluminium.

13. A structure as claimed in claim 12, wherein the caisson elements have side walls consisting of composite panels comprising an insulating core, and two covering sheets connected to said core.

14. A structure as claimed in claim 13, wherein said core is of phenolic foam.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 668,827 2/1901 Baker 52-67 X 1,896,433 2/193'3 Windeknecht 52-67 2,499,498 3/ 1950 Hammond 52-67 2,904,849 9/ 1959 Bergstrom 52143 X 3,118,187 1/ 1964 Alimanestiano 52-143 X 3,123,186 3/1964 Adkinson et al 52-143 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,019,628 2/ 1966 Great Britain. 1,010,403 3/1952 France. 1,372,468 8/1964 France.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner r P. C. FAW, JR., Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

